This is what I
tell myself in times of fear, uncertainty and troubles.

“House on the
beach.”

Why does this
help?It helps because it gets me
out of the present and my troubles therein.It reminds me that there are things to work for, things to
do and goals to reach.It puts
things into perspective.Whatever
troubles I’m enduring now will one day end.I won’t always have these problems.In fact, one day I will probably look
back and think that today’s troubles weren’t so bad.Thinking about my house on the beach helps me to realize
that today.My troubles aren’t so
bad.There’s a future awaiting me
and I can get through my current problems.

There is much
writing on the gift of the present and I agree with it.Staying in the present, specifically
this very moment can be liberating and help me to deal with fear or other less
desirable emotions.Sometimes,
however, it helps to have what Brian Tracy calls a future orientation,(No More Excuses) more specifically a goal.It helps to say, “Yes, the present is tough.I have a lot to do and I’m feeling the
pressure, but one day I’ll….”

At about 5:00 this
morning, as I was making the 90-minute drive back home, in the rain, from a
late night assignment, I could feel my thoughts getting melancholy and I
remembered my house on the beach.More specifically, I saw the card on my dashboard with the picture of the
house on the beach.Suddenly
I remembered what I was doing and why I was doing it.I remembered the future that hadn’t happened yet.That made everything better.It didn’t change the circumstances, but
it changed me.My sadness was
replaced with joy and excitement.My fatigue was replaced with adrenaline.I was becoming a stronger, happier, and more courageous man.

The problem with
living in the future is that we often see it pessimistically.We think of all the bad things that
could or will happen.All of that
is imaginary, until or unless it happens.And if it does, we will usually have a way to deal with it.But pessimism is not a future
orientation.Pessimism is just
fear.A healthy future orientation
involves goals, work and fun.It
is about something to look forward to.It can even be about changing the things we fear. It's about changing ourselves. It's not something easy or immediate
because then we would miss the joys of struggle and achievement, but it's not
impossible either.

I also have to
question the word “impossible.”What is impossible?For
years it was said that no one could run a four-minute mile.In 1954, Roger Bannister defied that
claim and within months several others did the same. “Currently, the mile
record is held by Morocco's Hicham
El Guerrouj, who ran a time of 3:43.13 in Rome in 1999.”

So today as I go
about my tasks and do my best to meet the demands I have accepted, I know it’s
not impossible to do so with joy, love, peace and patience.If fear, anger or sadness come up, I
can think about my house on the beach and know that even my thoughts are
bringing me closer to my goal.

Incidentally, my
house on the beach has two to three bedrooms.I share it with my Muse.It is two to three blocks from the shore so that I have some
privacy.Every morning I will wake
up around 5:00, put on some coffee and write three pages in my journal.Then I will write a blog or work on my
book or whatever my assignment in life is at that time.My house on the beach is not just about
a house.It represents spiritual,
financial, emotional and professional stability.It represents all the times I remembered to Get Started and
Keep Going.Is my goal
“impossible?”You tell me.